[Theory] Shadowlands is just a dream

[Narkrata]

Foreword

What if (the) Shadowlands never happened, but instead it was a vivid dream. Shadowlands had its flaws, in lore and in gameplay. For many in overall enjoyment. But in the World of Warcraft. Did the Shadowlands really happen? Inspired by DiscordianKittys Theory, that got posted on wowhead, I wanted to write down my own theory, one that I have been writing in short texts to different people. One that I have been thinking for a very long time by now. One that could explain why Shadowlands narrative was this bland. This would be a theory that could save the whole Story behind World of Warcraft. A story that many hold dear. So, let’s get started.

Shadowlands are not real. Or at least the expansion we went through isn’t the real Shadowlands. What we see is an Image of the Shadowlands. A dream, forged in an eternal slumber.


Beginning

So my theory begins with major dissatisfactions that I have had with the past lore events in World of Warcraft. Mainly, the death of N’Zoth. And everything that followed since.

We have faced the armies of the Voidlords for a long time now. We even killed some of their Heralds, the Old Gods. Namely C’Thun in Ahn’Qiraj and Yogg-Saron in Ulduar. C’Thun the Old God of madness and chaos tries to get us as close to the edge of madness as possible, it ultimately gets killed by the adventurers. Later, we fight Yogg-Saron ‘The Lucid Dream’ and we manage to overcome this challenge by the help of some titan-forged friends. But N’Zoth? We had no help, he is the weakest of the Old Gods but in that state, he might have been stronger than the other two. So how did we beat him? Well with the help of the Heart of Azeroth, Wrathion and Xal’atath.

We kill them, right? I think earlier in time it was said that we seal them away. Weaken them just enough until they emerge again. But that was retconned. Now we kill them. But hear me out, does this make a difference?


The State of Death in World of Warcraft

Death, Reincarnation, or the state of undying has been a theme in the history of World of Warcraft for a long time. With the scourge, Ner’zhul and Arthas being a prime example of Existence after Death. The horrifying truth that when slain we would join the ranks of our enemy. Demons have been reviving in the Twisted Nether since forever. Tichondrius for example was Arthas mentor, killed by Illidan and after his time spend in the Twisting Nether, an Enemy during our Raid on the Nighthold.

Even us mortals made use of abilities causing us to come back to life.
“The tauren chieftains hold such sacred bonds with their Earthmother that they can actually be reincarnated after they die in combat. Though this ability is very rare, it makes the wise, benevolent chieftains a dangerous foe to threaten. „ – Warcraft 3 Manual Page 24.

Sally Whiteman, a let’s just say, follower of the light is one of the Lore Characters that use the light to resurrect her fallen champions. Given that the light requires a special set of rules to resurrect a fallen one, it is another force that can do it.

Druids heal by lending natures energy. Using them to rebirth or revive people is possible in rare occasions I’d believe.

Light, Life, Death, Chaos. Entities of these realms can revive creatures or prevent them from perishing. That leaves out 2 forces. Order and Void. But is that really the case here? Or is it one we just have not seen yet.

In fact we do, for Order that is. In a battle with Sargeras, the pantheon of order was killed. But Norgannon casted a spell to protect their spirits. Eonars essence was hiding but eventually not only her but the whole Pantehon was whole again. During our fight against Argus that is.
So in short, every cosmic force can revive. Or prevent death or a fate like it. Every force, except void?


The Return of the Void
For Entities as strong as the Old Gods, a full on revive would probably take much longer than just a few mortal years. But perhaps they can reconstruct themselves earlier, with a lot less power. This might be the story behind Xal’atath. Once an old god, defeated and revived early with less power. Forged into a blade that corrupts empires from within. But that’s just speculation. And Shouldn't be taken as a fact.

What I am trying to say here is that if horrors of the void could revive. Who says that they aren’t already back on Azeroth. During our Raid on the Emerald Nightmare one of our encounters was Il’gynoth. But what do we face in our attempt to stop N’zoth? You’re right Il’gynoth, Corruption Reborn.

Great, Void can officially revive. Or can it? You see Ny’alotha is an alternate reality inhabited by the Old Gods. Once Il’gynoth was defeated he said the following.
“N'Zoth... I journey... to Ny'alotha...”, he was aware that he went to that Realm after his death. So is Ny’alotha the plane of existence were Void beings revive? At least it seems so. Basically the Twisting Nether for the beings of the void. But that does mean, that somewhere the essences of C’Thun, Yogg-Saron and Y’Sharij would have to be.
And that is exactly the case.


Whispers of the Void

During our endless Adventures we able to listen to many Whispers of the Void.
To go back to Il’gynoth, during his encounter in the Emerald Nightmare he says the following things.

“Flesh is his gift. He is your true creator.”, The Curse of Flash, made by Yogg-Saron.
“To find him, drown yourself in the circle of stars.”, here he talks about N’Zoth’s Prison in the Eternal Palace. But that could also mean "to find Yogg-Saron". That we will find him once we have found N’Zoth.

With N’Zoth being the Harbinger that tries to bring down the veil between Ny’alotha and Azeroth, its(Ny'alothas) description is a bit interesting. The following whispers come from the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron.

“In the land of Ny'alotha there is only sleep...”, sleep is an obvious connection to Yogg-Saron. The Lucid Nightmare. Not N’Zoth the Corruptor.
“In the sleeping city of Ny'alotha walk only mad things.”, again putting an emphasis on the word ‘sleeping’. This time we hear about mad things. Who was mad? C’Thun.
“In the sunken city, he lays dreaming.“, this one is about N’Zoth in his prison. But dreaming is not literal here but rather it means planning. Planning to fuse these realms together. Additionally dreaming is a connection to Yogg-Saron. To potentially say that N'zoth and Yogg are already planning something together.


Ny'alotha

The sleeping City. We venture into this corrupted Realm. Protected by the Cape Wrathion created. And, by the Heart of Azeroth, which is infused with a ton of Azerite. The very Essence of the world soul. We defeat everything in our path until we get to N’Zoth. What we do not realise is, that the other Essences of the Old Gods are near. Lingering, and gaining more power. Perhaps, waiting for the Heart itself. We fight N’Zoth, we fight his corruption. Perhaps we also subconsciously fight C’Thun in our minds. We try to stay sane and on top of that. The Lucid Dream get’s the best of us.

We fall into a deep slumber. A lucid Nightmare. Made from the all-seeing Futures of the Old Gods. Only protected by the Heart of Azeroth itself.


The Dream of the Shadowlands

Now here is where i probably lose some readers. So let's dig in.

The Dream starts with us defeating N’Zoth. Destroying Ny’alotha and setting us free once again. And it continues with Sylvanas betraying the Horde and shattering the Veil to the Realm of Death. This Betrayal symbolises the aspect of Madness from C’Thun. But also, Sylvanas as a whole Character in that Dream could resemble our inner conflicts. The Jailer would be either N’Zoths Corruption or Yogg-Saron keeping/jailing us in that Dream. The Covenants are the conflict the races of Azeroth face. That when only united they can succeed. We go through each Zone and rebuild and assist the Covenants. Reforging their Sigel’s. Creating one big Force instead of multiple small ones. It is exactly what the Horde and Alliance must do in the Future. While each Eternal One stands for Rulesets. The Primus, who is missing at the start of the Expansion. Stands for Tradition and Rules. Even in his absence his Covenant is supposed to stand Strong. Kyrestia, stands for Order and Loyalty. The Winterqueen stands for growth. While the Sire stands for not sinning the Sins that get harvested in Revendreth. If the forces of the Horde and Alliance were to come together, lay down their weapons and together follow these Rulesets. They could overcome every Obstacle.

The Arbiter is our own soul. Broken, not working and quite useless. In this state it is only assissting the Enemy. We must find a way to repair the position of the Arbiter and find a new one. Only when our soul is repaired, we stand a chance.

The Sepulchre of the First Ones? That would be our last mental fortitude. If the Jailer were to succeed in his Plan, that could mean that we as a soul, are lost forever. That our world is lost forever. The Jailer wants to remake Reality, while N’Zoth wants to remake Azeroth and transform it into the Black Empire.

So, we continue to live in this dream. We make it to the Sepulchre and eventually beat the Jailer. We beat The Lucid Dream and weaken its effect on us. We already made peace with Sylvanas. Which means that we made peace with our inner conflicts. We promote Pelagos as the Arbiter, which means we repair our soul. It is time to free ourselves from the Dream.


The Awakening

The Dream crumbles. We wake up and found ourselves in the position we were several years ago. In front of us, is a weakened N’Zoth. Were we gone for just a second? We do not know. Memories are rushing through our minds. Wrathion cleanses every kind of corruption that has been put on us. And throws Xal’atath to us. We do exactly what he did in the Cinematic and finish off the weakened N’Zoth. Ny’alotha crumbles and we would have more than enough time to prepare for their(The Old Gods) next arrival.


Potential new Expansion Start

We go back to our capital and try to explain that once the forces of Azeroth are united, nothing could oppose us again. But that causes a distasteful response from the Alliance. While Peace is in their interest, Sylvanas should pay for her crimes. Most of the Horde civilians would want peace as well, but Sylvanas is still their Warchief. Irritated by our words Sylvanas wants our Head. But our Title as the Saviour of Azeroth (for the seventh time) is stronger than her word. People form a bond with us. And we fight her and Nathanos (A solo Instanced repeatable boss fight with TMog Rewards against Sylvanas). During that fight, several Lore Important Characters join us. Tyrande, Lor’Themar, Anduin and Greymane but also Thrall and Jaina. Once completed, Tyrande will personally take her Head. And the night warrior slowly fades. Leaving behind Tyrande how she has ever been. While still suspicious towards one another. The Horde and Alliance slowly make peace.
The Intro quest chain would be done here.
We go back to our capitol. And Wrathion shows up again. Explaining that there are several dangers on the Dragon Isles, and he needs our help.
The Horde and Alliance both make their way to the Dragon Isles. And with that the next expansion rolls out.


Results

This would be a devastating change to the ones Shadowlands made. Sylvanas would not be redeemed but rather just a hateful Character again. The whole past 16 years were not retconned for just 1 bad guy that we never have heard of before. The transition to Dragon Isles could make sense.
And the alliance could get their Revenge on Sylvanas. This would mean that Sylvanas actions were plain evil and not driven by a different other reason.

This would mean that all of Shadowlands did not happen, which would make some people happy I suppose. Me included. Also, the Shadowlands could be a topic later, but fundamentally different. I think keeping death a mystery is important in a fantasy setting. The whole “there is always another, bigger, worse enemy in the cosmos”, would not be a theme. At least for now. The Image of the Shadowlands would be an Image of ourselves and the Old Gods. And I would enjoy that.

Thanks for taking your time to read this, and sorry for any kind of grammatical or spelling mistakes on my part. Haven't written long blog texts in a long time. And it's my first theory that i have ever written down.
~Narkrata

This theory probably isn’t what has happened, and I probably missed a lot of things. I probably forgot about major or minor events in that theory. But maybe, maybe we all are just sleeping. Dreaming, waiting to wake up.

[Mic_128]

While a lot of criticism can be said about Shadowlands for the story and the new lore, giving jazz hands and going "It was all a dreeeeam" is one of the worst, absolutely laziest and honestly cowardly ways to end a story in writing. (Looking at you, Click staring Adam Sandler.)

[PhillyCheese]

We are never going to see the end of these threads huh?

[Skildar]

you need to wake up...

[Khaza-R]

As much as I hate Shadowlands this would be even worse.

Just finish WoW's storyline in whatever cosmic forces direction they want to to go in and reset the series ignoring everything that happens in WoW if they ever decide to make WarCraft IV.

[Houle]

As much as I hate Shadowlands this would be even worse.

Just finish WoW's storyline in whatever cosmic forces direction they want to to go in and reset the series ignoring everything that happens in WoW if they ever decide to make WarCraft IV.

Yeah, pls give me a Warcraft 4 that ignores all of WoW, and continues after WC3. Only way to save the lore at this point. While the writing was never really good in WoW, the last 2 addons fully fcked it (altho chronicles did its fair share too, tbh).

[Lochton]

Sadly, not a dream, nor was WoD.

[Eggroll]

Reset the story to before War of Thorns, pretty plx.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Lol... the meme made into an actual un-inronic theory? I'm in on this.


Also you could have made this as another fan-made expansion concept. "DiscordianKitty" or whatever that person's online name is-- after the debacle of their write-up about "backlash" on the 'Exporing Azeroth: Kalimdor' book... I'll pass on anything that person has to say.

[Dartz1979]

im just glad my fan service lore characters jaina sylvanas and alleria are still around i require them to still be around to keep me motivated and positive.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

im just glad my fan service lore characters jaina sylvanas and alleria are still around i require them to still be around to keep me motivated and positive.

I'll bite: how are they fan service lore characters and not just regular characters?

[CalamityHeart]

Jesus Christ, I wish this "It Was All A Dream" copium would just die out already.

The sooner it's generally accepted that Shadowlands was a pretty poor chapter in WoW's story and turn the page, the better. There comes a point where being of the opinion of "I would eat literal shit just to get the taste of Shadowlands out of my mouth!" says more about you and the shit you're eating than it does about the actual story.

[Vakna]

My headcanon has always been that both BfA and Shadowlands are just a wild crack dream that our characters went through after a wild victory party on the Legion's defeat.

[Iain]

I'm firmly into the 'whatever happens in the Shadowlands stays in the Shadowlands' camp. IE it exists, but now it's a closed chapter. Drust, Ardenwaeld and De Other Side are welcome to bleed through into the mortal world at any time. Those are awesome themes and it would be a shame to let such beautiful assets go to waste.

[Feanoro]

I can't blame people for wishing BfA and SL were just a dream, but sadly these nightmares are real and will continue so long as the current writing team is there. BfA circled the bowl, SL flushed, and betting that 10.0 starts touring the sewer pipes.

[TheFirstOnes]

It did. Please stop. Accept the facts.

[Golden Yak]

It happened.

It can't un-happen.

[Dartz1979]

I'll bite: how are they fan service lore characters and not just regular characters?

well alleria sports that midriffy look so does jaina too..sylvanas used to but not no more.

[Shadowferal]

So.. Shadowlands is based upon "Lost?"
That'd make one hell of a retcon!

[Ealyssa]

I love when people trash Blizzard’s writing yet come with the cringiest garbage fanfic level writing of their own…